A slot machine having a game with a rotator and one or more reels. Slot machines have three or more reels for playing one or more games. Spinners have been added atop conventional three reel or more than three reel slot machines to add an additional and different bonus game. So when three reels align in a preset arrangement of symbols, the player enters into the different bonus game that is not the standard game in that a bonus payout is given and that is independent of the underlying or standard base game. Players love the bonus game and will often continue play on the base game to achieve bonus game play and its payout.
Thus, frequency of bonus game play is important to the players because there is different play and usually an added payout. The anticipation of bonus game play keeps players at the repetitive standard base game play and insures that the casino operator makes more money. Even though the player does not have to insert coins to play the bonus game the casino operator makes more on the standard base game to fund the bonus game. The complexity of the bonus games have increased to the point wherein multiple levels of bonus game play has been added to insure that the player is not bored with either the standard base game or the bonus game. The anticipation of a bonus game and surprise of the difference in play of the bonus game is very important to maintain the players' interest and players' continued play. Numerous different bonus games have been added to the standard base games and some are more successful than others. Notably the “Wheel Of Fortune” bonus game is currently a most popular bonus game as it includes the spinning wheel of the television game show a top the base game. When the preset reel symbols alignment is achieved on the base game the bonus game begins with music and the rotation of the wheel to determine the bonus game payout. Different payouts are possible including additional amounts or multiples of that won in the base game.
Many reel slot machines without any bonus game were made and played for years before the bonus games were introduced and these machines have been replaced and sometimes updated at great expense with bonus games. Specifically, additional software and hardware have been added in the updating of the ubiquitous reel type slot machines to include the bonus games a top the base games. Also, video slot machines have virtual reels to simulate reel type slot play and while video machines are frequently updated by software changes the process is costly. If a bonus game is added to a video slot machine a new or another processing might be required to include the bonus game.
There remains a need to provide the player with a simple slot machine that has an anticipatory feature for the base game to retain player's interest and overcome boredom. There is a demand for a simple and cost effect way to update existing slot machines of the reel type with an anticipatory feature for the base game. Slot machine manufacturers have not met a requirement for a new looking and different playing base game, even though many variations of slot machine dress have been tried. Theme machines based upon familiar parlor games or television shows are currently popular and successful with those game even less payout to the player and return to the operator is of necessity because the owner of the intellectual property rights in the theme must get a share of the slot machine return. While theme machines remain very attractive to the player over time, those are not the best games to play.